Delhi Metro Chief E Sreedharan today said the fare hike in metro rail services was due to increase in the organisation's expenditure. The 36 per cent hike comes into effect on Friday.

Delhi Metro Chief E Sreedharan on Thursday said the fare hike in metro rail services was due to increase in the organisation's expenditure. The 36 per cent hike comes into effect on Friday.

"The hike in the metro fare was decided after two considerations. First, the last time that the fare was revised was in December 2005 which was almost four years back and second, because the metro network is now increasing rapidly. You can now travel up to 60 km in the metro," Sreedharan told reporters at the inauguration of the Noida section of the Delhi metro.

"The revision of metro fare is always done by a committee headed by a sitting or retired high court judge. This hike depends on the affordability factor of the commuter and maintenance of a sound financial condition of the organization," he added.

A week after bus fares went up sharply in the Indian capital, the Delhi Metro Wednesday announced a 36 per cent increase in fares, fuelling sharp reactions from commuters.

Nearly 900,000 people commute by the metro everyday.

The DMRC estimates that 53,000 passengers will be added to its daily commuters after the Noida corridor opens.

The minimum fare (for up to 2 km) has gone up from Rs 6 to Rs 8 while the maximum fare has been increased from Rs 22 (over 39 km) to Rs 30 (over 44 km). The remaining fare slabs will also rise correspondingly, Delhi Metro officials said.

The 10 per cent discount on smart card will, however, continue.

"When the network of metro increases, our expenditure also goes up. And we have to pay back our loans to Japan. All of these have made the hike mandatory," Sreedharan said.